The temp is good and has been constant. I have plenty of bubbles in there.. there should be enough oxygen?

The only things I could think of, but idk if they would be the cause:
1. I have aquarium salt in the tank right now. Was put in 8 days ago to cure Ich, double the recommended dosage (that's what I was told to do.) I have done a few big water changes, but the tank is still a little over half salt right now.

2. Water level is too low? I leave it like 6 inches below the filter so it makes plenty of bubbles...

3. My plants aren't doing too well, could they be releasing toxins?

That's about all I can think of... I recently just had a tiger barb die. I have 4 platies and 7 tigers in my tank right now. It's a 55 gal.

You can't use salt with plants. It will kill them. The die off will cause a spike in ammonia.

This is what I wrote in your last thread

Quote:

Treating ick with aquarium salt depends on their life cycle which can be well over a month. Raising temp to 86-88F and so long as your fish can take it will speed up the life cycle to more around 2 weeks and allow it to be treated with salt. Some people with sensitive fish and large tanks treat ONLY by raising temps and no salt. If your fish can take salt though that's good.. rate of 1 tsp per gallon predissolved - also you can't use salt if you have live plants. Leave the heat that high until a week after the very last sign of ick.

Also I see that you swiched filter media only one week apart.. you reset your cycle. You should only switch filter media one per month because it will take that long for the new one to become established. The carbon should be replaced monthly. A plain sponge should only need to be replaced every 6 months to a year, but you can swish it in your old water after a change. If you have any of those white/beige little rock things.. biobags some call them.. those can also be changed every 6 months to a year.

You are going to need to monitoring carefully now.. What are you using to test?

So should I just take the plants out? I seen that you wrote that, but it was after I already used the salt

So if the filter cartridges come wiht the carbon, I should just leave them anyway until I need to replace all of it? ..

I use the API master test kit. I'm not saying you're wrong about ruining the cycling, but since the water levels are good at the moment, I'm just wondering what could be causing them to all be at the surface? I've done 50% WC the past 2 days trying to lower the salt, should I do another one? I was going to wait a few days.. or do you think it's something else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by callistra

You can't use salt with plants. It will kill them. The die off will cause a spike in ammonia.

This is what I wrote in your last thread

Also I see that you swiched filter media only one week apart.. you reset your cycle. You should only switch filter media one per month because it will take that long for the new one to become established. The carbon should be replaced monthly. A plain sponge should only need to be replaced every 6 months to a year, but you can swish it in your old water after a change. If you have any of those white/beige little rock things.. biobags some call them.. those can also be changed every 6 months to a year.

You are going to need to monitoring carefully now.. What are you using to test?

The plants need to be removed, unfortunately.. or the salt needs to be removed. If it's highly planted, it may be easier to do a series of larger changes to remove the salt. Some are more hardy than others but this high a level of salt is hard on them.

What filter are you using? I can be more specific on what needs to be changed, hopefully.

I'll do another 50% change in the morning and remove the plants. Sucks, wish I would have known before adding salt.

No more ick as far as I can see. At least I haven't seen anything for a few days. I had the temp raised to 82 but now it's down to about 79. I'm thinking I'll have to get another heater though. I noticed the temp is fluctuated a couple degrees every few hours? That's probably not good. My boyfriend got me the one I have, but it's only for 45 gal. This might be a dumb question, but could I just get one for a 10 gal and somehow set them both to get the temp I want? or wouldn't that work?

Quote:

Originally Posted by callistra

The plants need to be removed, unfortunately.. or the salt needs to be removed. If it's highly planted, it may be easier to do a series of larger changes to remove the salt. Some are more hardy than others but this high a level of salt is hard on them.

What filter are you using? I can be more specific on what needs to be changed, hopefully.

The first stage of the AQUA-Tech® filtration is mechanical. The blue polyfiber pad that is integrated onto the EZ-ChangeTM Filter Cartridge screens out dirt and debris as water passes through.

The second stage of the AQUA-Tech® filtration is chemical. The activated carbon that is in the EZ-ChangeTM Filter Cartridge removes dissolved waste and cleans the water of odors.

The third stage of the AQUA-Tech® filtration is biological. The BIO-Fiber that is included in each AQUA-Tech® Power Filter provides additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow and thrive. The bacteria then eliminate toxic ammonia and nitrites that can be fatal to fish. You should never clean or throw away the BIO-Fiber. If the BIO-Fiber becomes too clogged, rinse it with conditioned water only.

So it's kind of a problem that your carbon and blue pad are one? Because you'll have to replace carbon monthly, and there went the majority of your bb.. I try to stay away from cartridges that combine carbon with other filtration for this reason. It's really impractical. How much biofilter is in there? A big sponge hopefully? that's the one that should only be replaced every 6-12 months.

A 55g tank needs at least a 200w heater. Some people use 250w heaters and some use dual 200w.

The swings would be hard on them and in something so large I would not expect this unless you're under heated or in a really freezing house.

Ick has a really long life cycle with temps like that. I suggest treating by removing salt and raising heat for at least a couple weeks. Your fish should be okay with this change if you do it slowly enough, but if they show signs of stress back off and then try again after a period of time.